GTs in Florida

Beaver Falls, PA - In what has become an annual event for the Geneva College baseball and softball teams, spring break means an extended stay in the sunshine state for both teams. On Friday evening, the Geneva College baseball and softball teams will load into separate buses and begin the 18+ hour trek to the state of Florida. Both teams will be heading to Kissimmee, FL for the first leg of the trip. While the softball team will remain just outside of Orlando for the duration of their trip, the baseball team will head to Clearwater, FL early next week.

The baseball team will be looking to rebound from a 16-20 season a year ago as they begin the 2011 season with a total of 11 games during the 11-day adventure. As for softball, the Golden Tornadoes will look to build upon a 23-17 record last year with a 12-game schedule in Kissimmee, FL at the Rebel Spring Games.

"We are obviously very excited and anxious to begin the season," said softball head coach Van Zanic. "We play a very difficult schedule in Florida with seven of the 12 teams having advanced to NCAA post-season play in 2010. We will know fairly quickly how we stack up with some of the best teams in the country."

The baseball team will open its season on Monday, March 7 with a single game against Southeastern College. On Tuesday, they will get back on the bus and travel to Clearwater where they will play the final 10 games of the Florida schedule. The softball team also opens next Monday with games against Methodist and Bridgewater.

While the focus of the spring break trip is around the competition on the field, both teams have ample opportunity for some rest and relaxation. Both teams will enjoy three off days during the 11-day trip which includes some beach time or possibly a trip to a Disney Theme Park. "These student-athletes pay most of their own way for this trip," said Zanic. "They deserve some time for themselves away from the field. We use this trip not only to get better on the field but to bond off of it."

The Geneva baseball team opens the northern portion of its schedule on Saturday, March 19 when it hosts Mount Aloysius in a doubleheader. On that same day, the Geneva softball team will be hosting Hiram in a 1 p.m. doubleheader.